This Thursday, Portugal is experiencing its first general strike in 12 years. The demonstration called by the main unions of Portugal rejects the labor reform proposed by the government of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro (center-right) who, according to them, cuts rights.
The strike day began this Thursday evening and will last 24 hours. In Portugal, out of an active population of around 5 million people, approximately 1.3 million are already in a precarious situationaccording to the unions.
This is the first general strike in Portugal since the “Troika” era. According to its organizers, the CGTP (General Confederation of Portuguese Workers) and the UGT (General Union of Workers), the labor reform project of the Executive of Montenegro facilitates dismissal, deregulates hours and affects rights such as permission to breastfeed.
During the summer, the Executive presented its proposal, called “Work XXI”, and in September began the negotiations with unions and employers. There were no agreementsdespite which the government intends to submit it to parliamentary debate. On November 8, thousands of people demonstrated in Lisbon against labor reform.
Changes in over a hundred articles
The government assures that what it is proposing is a “thorough” review of labor legislation. To do this, it is considering modifications to more than a hundred articles of the Labor Code, the main ones of which are:
Employment contracts
One of the key measures of the reform is the modification of the fixed-term employment contract regime. He the new roof will take two to three yearsallowing greater predictability in human resource management without compromising worker safety.
- In Spain, with the reforms applied by Minister Yolanda Díaz, 80% of hires were made in the form of temporary contracts, compared to 66% for permanent contracts.
Bank of working hours
Another proposal is the creation of a modernized working hours bank model. This instrument will be more accessible and less bureaucratic, designed to promote flexibility and well-being. Businesses and workers will be able to negotiate schedule adjustments based on operational needs and personal, strengthening the balance between work and life.
According to the unions, this would mean that the working day could increase by up to two hours per day, reaching 50 hours per week and a maximum of 150 hours per year “of free work for employers”.
- In Spain, the legal maximum working time continues to be 40 hours of effective work per week (in practice, based on the average of agreements, it is 37.8 hours). The ordinary working day cannot exceed 9 hours of actual work per day.
Maternity and paternity leave
The breastfeeding period and permissions to breastfeed the baby They will be limited to two years. Current regulations stipulate that mothers who breastfeed their children have the right to be excused from work to be able to do so for the duration of breastfeeding. According to the unions, this is an “attack” on maternity and paternity rights.
Flexible hours for mothers and fathers of children under 12 with disabilities or chronic illnesses will depend on of “adapting the way the company operates”.
- In Spain, with the changes that came into force on January 1, the leave for birth and care of minors for each parent increases from 16 to 19 weeks. Extends up to 32 weeks in the case of single-parent or single-parent families
Minimum service limit due to strike
Among the measures proposed by the government is also the increase in minimum services that must be guaranteed in the event of a strike. They are introduced guarantees in the event of a strike to, says the Executive, avoid stoppages that compromise essential services while respecting the constitutional right to strike.
In addition, union action is limited in workplaces where there is still no organization. The unions denounce the fact that this change could lead to its own weakening.
Economic growth or labor rights
According to the main union confederation, the CGTP, these provisions represent “one of the greatest attacks on the world of work.” Its secretary general, Tiago Oliveira, denounced the desire to normalize precariousness, deregulate working hours and facilitate layoffs.
On the other hand, the government defends that its reform project will serve to “stimulate economic growth to create more jobs and pay better wages”, in the words of Montenegro. The Prime Minister assures that the proposed measures will increase the flexibility of the labor market and accuses the CGTP of not wanting an agreement.
The opposition in Parliament, for its part, harshly attacked the Government’s bill. “These proposals are an offense to young people, an offense to women, an offense to families and an offense to the most vulnerable. Mr Prime Minister, what you are doing with this proposal is send young people into precariousness, to green revenues and the underground economy,” accused socialist leader José Luís Carneiro.
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